May 26, 2010

When it comes to terrible network decisions, NBC is still the network to beat, but we shouldn't leave ABC out of the running.

In late March, when ABC ran a countdown clock promoting the return of "V" on screen during an entire "Lost" episode, there was justifiable outrage. That was just a colossally dumb idea, and I actually wonder if it turned some "Lost" fans against the alien-invasion drama.

But what ABC did after Sunday's "Lost" finale was dumber. After all, the "V" clock was just a one-time thing and it didn't cause some people to misinterpret the entire nature and meaning of an important television series. What happened after the "Lost" finale did mislead and confuse some fans of the show. That is a much more serious error.

You see, after the finale ended and the "Lost" logo flashed on the screen, there was a silent sequence of images of plane wreckage on the beach.

Some fans, as the Los Angeles Times' Maria Elena Fernandez noted, concluded
after seeing those images of plane wreckage "that no one survived Oceanic
815's crash landing — and
therefore everything we've seen over the last six years never really
happened."

According to the L.A. Times, those closing images were added by ABC executives, not "Lost" executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and they were not meant to imply that no one survived the original voyage of Oceanic Flight 815. They were not meant to imply anything, actually; they were meant to serve as a transition to local newscasts.

"The images shown during the end credits of the 'Lost' finale, which
included shots of Oceanic 815 on a deserted beach, were not part of the
final story but were a visual aid to allow the viewer to decompress
before heading into the news," an ABC rep told the L.A. Times.

Who on Earth thought it was a good idea to add possibly confusing images to a finale that was going to be one of the most analyzed and scrutinized series-enders in TV history? And in this age of DVRs and online viewing and all the rest of it, do we really need hand-holding? We set our own schedules and transitions are hardly necessary. Besides, "Lost" fans have dealt with six seasons of polar bears, magic glowy caves, smoke monsters and time travel. Really, we're good without "decompressing" before the local headlines.

It saddens and angers me that this dumb decision by the network confused so many fans. I got many comments on my finale post and my post-finale post from viewers who thought the entire series was a dream, or never happened, or depicted things that occurred in characters' minds as they lay dying. I even had a few doubts about what those final images meant, but I was able to dismiss those doubts. I assumed that what occurred before that final "Lost" logo was canon, and everything else was just extra.

So, to reiterate: The events on the island really happened. And as Christian Shephard told his son, the Sideways events happened too, although that realm also served as a transition point as the characters gradually met up again and "moved on."

You're probably all feeling "Lost" fatigue at this point, and I can relate, but I thought it was important to share this. If you want to read one more "Lost" wrap-up, this one by Todd VanderWerff is terrific and really worth your time. This should be my last "Lost" post, probably, except for an upcoming podcast in which Ryan McGee and I will take some of your island-related questions (Leave your queries on this week's podcast post, please).

Comments

Are you kidding me? People actually thought that was some kind of clue? Were people THAT desperate for answers after the show BEGGED everyone to "Let go" and "Move on"?

I couldn't have been more pleased with the decision to add the 30 seconds of images at the end. I absolutely did NOT want to hear the usual high-octane suspense music that plays at the end of every episode, as it has the connotations of "BAM! Cliffhanger! At least there are still more episodes left!" because not only was this obviously the complete end of the series, but it was way too emotional. I also wanted to sit and digest what just happened for a second, so it abruptly ending after "L O S T" would have been rough, too. The fact that so many people are even angry at ABC over this is a real testament to how frustrating to really is to be a true fan of this beautiful story.

I didn't think it was dumb at all; I liked it. It reminded me of computer games I used to play that put background images from the game under the closing credits when you won. I was (and continue to be) amazed that anyone could've been confused by them.

In this case I think fans were the dumb one not ABC. It was obvious that it was just an image to have over the closing credits in a "look how far we've come" sense. But people over-read into everything on this show. It's a good thing they didn't make the fonts in the final credits an unusual color or we'd still be talking about that.

I'm amazed that this is ever an issue. The images shown during the end credits where obviously a shout out to the end of the series. Lost has never shown part of the show after the LOST logo. They won't have started doing that now.

I was wondering and hoping the credits would have been shown like they do at the end of every episode on the DVD... the creepy music, the homage to all the cast and production crew... the black background, white lettering...

The images of the wreckage didn't confuse me at all. I didn't know that ABC was responsible at the time, so I just thought it was a final nostalgic look at the crash that started it all. In fact I was more confused by some of the fans being confused!

The V countdown clock, on the other hand, was incredibly stupid. As if having a reminder during every commercial break wasn't enough to get us to stay tuned.

This was not a stupid decision by ABC. Not at all. If anything, it was very smart. The only reason these images could have confused anyone is if YOU DIDN'T WATCH THE LAST 15 MINUTES. Christian Shephard basically said about 5 times, that the island was real, they were real, their interactions were real.

From the emotional high that LOST ended on, this was a chance for everyone to come down from that high, take a breath, reflect upon where it all started, wipe the tears away, and scramble to find the remote to mute/pause the tv before the overly-loud nightly news blares into your living room.

Well done, ABC, and shame on you Maureen for trying to put a damper on what was a wonderful finale and ending.

I actually really liked the images of the plane. My confusion on the end stemmed from Christian and Jack's conversation, not the plane images.

I thought it was a great homage to the show, and while most people in this world probably DVR'd the show and could do their own transition, some people DID watch it live. An abrupt shift from the final image of Jack's eye to the typical local news teaser, or even worse an obnoxious commercial featuring a guy getting attacked by a shark (ala the Sun/Jin death scene) would've been horrible. So kudos to ABC for actually thinking about how to be a little more subtle than is normal.

Also, there are many shows that have ended their run with a final look through empty sets as some sort of closure to that world.

I was one of those who considered the possibility that they were dead the whole time, but the footage of the wreck doesn't imply anything. The plane crashed. Of course it's still going to be there. Who was going to come clean it up?

I had the same thought as the LA Times gal, that no one had survived and the entire show was a dream sequence, ala Pam and Bobby Ewing on Dallas. I kept waiting to hear sounds of a helicopter with the pilot radioing in "That there appear to be no survivors."

It was kind of a dumb thing to do, but I thought the "V Clock" was beyond annoying and completely turned me off to that show

I watched the first episode, and the last 30 minutes of the last, so I'm probably not the best person to throw my two cents in, but from a production point of view, I thought it was a good idea.

As I was sitting there watching the ending, I was thinking that in about a minute, our blaring news opening will come on, making for a crappy transition from the show to the news, so I thought the long closing credits was a much better way to dissolve out of the show.

As for everyone dying in the crash, I thought that during the scene with Jack and his dad after he opens the casket.

You know I am with the majority thinking it was stupid to put those images in. But it wasn't till I read that LA Times article, I had no idea people had those interpretations. It got me thinking a bit about that theory.

I honestly thought it was just a cool little homage to like the pilot episode. My friends and I all thought it was lame, but interesting to say the least. But I can totally feel how people felt jipped cause of it.

i agree this was a stupid thing for ABC to have done. it was very confusing to the average lost fan and i'm sure the die-hard obsessives on these comments may disagree. the average fan of lost barely understands the show and can't be bothered to make these significant connections, so the images at the end of the show provided an easy, "it was all a dream". imagine if at the end of twin peaks they showed laura palmer walking around like nothing ever happened as a filler before the local news. one of the biggest mistakes ever. up there with Studio 60.

I was fine with it. Didn't think much about it really. Just nice quiet scenes of the crash site. This just shows a lot of people did not get the ending.

Although this may explain with my brother (who doesn't watch Lost) told me someone at his workplace said the Lost finale was horrible but we find out they were all dead. I had no idea what he was talking about.

I remember watching that episode of LOST with the V countdown clock and becoming very annoyed. I'm glad that ABC took a lot of flak over that decision. But when it comes to decisions by TV executives I expect the worst. ALL TV executives make bad decisions. The viewer is always the loser.

I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS VERY SMART FOR ABC TO ADD THOSE IMAGES AT END. IF YOU TRULY "UNDERSTOOD" THE FINALE, AND THE WHOLE STORY IN GENERAL THOSE IMAGES WERE CONFIRMATION OF EVERYTHING THAT HAD BEEN SAID EARLIER. IT IS CLEARLY THE WREACKEAGE OF OCEANIC 815 AND THERE ARE CLEARLY FOOTSTEPS ALL OVER THE SAND. IT WAS PUT THERE TO TELL VIEWERS ONE FINAL TIME SO THAT THERE BE NO MISTAKE, THAT THE CRASH DID HAPPEN, AND THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE ISLAND WAS REAL. IN THE END, THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT WERE LEFT ON THE ISLAND WERE HURLEY, BEN, ROSE AND BERNARD, EVERYONE ELSE WAS EITHER DEAD OR GONE. IF THE HAD SHOWN FOOTAGE OF AN EMPTY BEACH THEN PEOPLE MIGHT THINK THAT THERE WAS NEVER ANY PLANE CRASH, OR IF THE HAD SHOWN THE WREACKEAGE WITHOUT FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND THEN PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT THAT THEY ALL DIED, BUT IT WAS VERY VERY CLEAR!!!

What? How were the images of the plane confusing? Even if they had been added by Cuse and Lindelof, it would have been a fine artistic decision. It was a nice, humble reminder of everything that's happened over the years. I'm stunned that anyone thought they were supposed to represent some sort of "It was all a dream..." ending.

I'm with the bulk of the commenters here. I loved those closing images. It was a nice, quiet transition from this emotional event into what came next. Until I read a few comments from Monday's post, that those images were some sort of indication of something never even crossed my mind. I thought it was the perfect way to close it all out.

It was a dumb decision if only because it enabled dumb people to jump to a dumb conclusion about the nature of the show. Anyone who had actually, you know, watched the last 15 minutes should have known exactly what was happening.

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